


The things I do for love

by That_is_right



Category: Promare (2019)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Cuddling & Snuggling, Domestic Fluff, Established Relationship, Fluff, Hair, Hair Braiding, Hair Brushing, Love Confessions, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-30
Updated: 2020-07-30
Packaged: 2021-03-06 06:01:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,240
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25598497
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/That_is_right/pseuds/That_is_right
Summary: The first time Gueira tries to do Meis’ hair, it’s nothing short of a complete and utter disaster.Gueira is determined to make the next time a success — he is going to learn how to do Meis' hair.
Relationships: Gueira/Meis (Promare), Lio Fotia & Gueira & Meis
Comments: 8
Kudos: 50





	The things I do for love

**Author's Note:**

> This was inspired by [this amazing artwork](https://twitter.com/twdschaos/status/1288511647091429376). I just couldn't get it out of my head, and then this happened. I wrote/edited/posted this in the space of like 3 hours, it's just something quick and fluffy.

The first time Gueira tries to do Meis’ hair, it’s nothing short of a complete and utter disaster. They’re about a month into their relationship, and Meis is busy with his latest painting. He huffs loudly from where he's sitting across the living room.

“Everything okay?” Gueira calls from his spot on the couch.

“My hair keeps getting in the way,” Meis grumbles. “I’ve got paint all over my hands, could you tie it up for me?”

“Uh, sure,” Gueira says, setting his book on the coffee table. He hadn’t really been reading, anyway, too engrossed in the sight of Meis hard at work. He makes his way over to where Meis is on the floor and sits on his knees behind him.

“There’s a hair tie in my pocket,” Meis says, leaning forward.

Gueira slides his hand into Meis’ back pocket, very glad that Meis can’t see the way he blushes furiously as he fishes it out. Meis sits back and continues with his work, brush moving in long, uninterrupted strokes across the canvas.

Gueira stares at the mass of long, shiny hair that spills down Meis’ back. Gueira’s own hair is thick and unruly, and he wouldn’t be able to tie it up even if he wanted to. The closest he gets is putting a headband on in the morning to keep it out of his face as he shaves. Otherwise, it basically has a mind of its own and he is completely at its mercy.

Meis’ hair is probably about ten times longer than Gueira’s, and he has absolutely no idea what to do with it. Meis keeps painting as Gueira flounders, seemingly unaware of Gueira’s silent panic. 

Gueira isn’t really sure what he manages to do Meis’ hair by the time he's done. One minute he’s just trying to tie it up, and then suddenly it’s stuck in a complicated knot that is completely beyond Gueira’s understanding. It’s out of Meis’ face, but Gueira doesn’t have any idea how he’s going to get Meis’ hair out of the situation that it has found itself in.

“Thanks, Gueira,” Meis says, completely unaware of the situation unfolding behind him.

“Uh. I might have made a bit of a mess.”

Meis shrugs. “I’m sure it’s fine. It’s out of my face, that’s all I really wanted.”

“Right.”

Gueira retreats to his spot on the couch and goes back to pretending to read. If he spends the next hour watching Meis as he works on his painting, that’s no one’s business but his.

~...~

It takes Meis over an hour to untangle Gueira’s mess. Gueira cries when Meis threatens to give up and just shave it all off. Eventually, Meis manages to free his hair from whatever Gueira managed to do to it, and then Gueira spends the next hour lovingly brushing Meis’ hair by way of an apology. Meis is practically purring by the time he’s done.

~...~

After that fateful incident, Meis doesn’t ask Gueira to do his hair again. Meis does a pretty good job of it himself, and Lio is happy to help him with more complicated styles. Gueira is still allowed to brush Meis’ hair, as well as help Meis wash it in the shower, but any sort of styling or tying is left to the experts.

Gueira can appreciate the wisdom in this decision, but that doesn’t mean he isn’t sad about it. He wants to be able to help his stunning boyfriend with his beautiful hair. All he has to do is learn how to do hair. It can’t possibly be that difficult, right?

One afternoon, Gueira sits down with an armful of snacks and opens his laptop. He does a quick search for “how to tie up long hair”, and clicks on the first video that comes up. Once that video is finished, he clicks on the next recommended video and carries on. The next time he looks up from the screen, the sun is setting, and Gueira has lost count of how many different types of braids he theoretically knows how to do.

There’s a knock on the door as Gueira is cleaning up. He practically bounces over it to open it and welcome Meis inside for their date night.

“Meisie! I have a surprise for you!” Gueira doesn’t even bother with a greeting, too excited to show Meis his new skill.

“If this is another trick to get me to help you with those infernal flashcards—”

Gueira laughs. “No, I promise you’re actually going to like this one. Come here, sit down.”

Gueira ushers Meis down onto a pillow on the floor in front of the couch. There’s a hairbrush as well as a handful of ties and clips on the coffee table. Meis narrows his eyes in suspicion once he spots them. “What is this?”

Gueira sits on the couch behind him and presses a kiss to the top of his head. “Trust me, it’ll be fine. Just hold still.”

“If I have to shave my head after this, you’re doing it with me,” Meis threatens.

“I’ve got this, baby, don’t worry.” Gueira winks, even though he knows Meis can’t see him.

Meis sighs but settles back between Gueira’s legs without any further complaint.

Apart from the gentle music playing in the background, it’s quiet as Gueira works on Meis’ hair. He brushes it out carefully, then separates it into sections to start on the braid. Gueira had decided to go with a nice simple style for the first time working with Meis’ hair, and it seems to be working. Some of the sections are a bit uneven, and it’s a little bit wonky, but it actually looks pretty good. Meis certainly doesn’t seem to have much to say as Gueira works, and Gueira wonders if he has fallen asleep. Sometimes, after a long day of classes, Meis will drop into Gueira’s lap and fall asleep as he brushes his hair. It’s adorable.

It only takes a few minutes for Gueira to finish. He ties off the braid and then pats Meis’ shoulders. “Okay, Meisie, I think I’m done.”

Meis doesn’t say anything.

“Meis?”

“Hmmm?”

“Oh, so you _are_ awake.”

“Yep. Awake. Just remind me, what did you say?”

Gueira rolls his eyes. “I said, I think I’m done.”

Meis reaches back to touch his hair and gasps. “What? Did you braid my hair?”

“Yeah, I watched some tutorials online today.”

Meis twists around to look at Gueira. He looks like he’s on the verge of tears. “Really? You learnt to braid hair just for me?”

“Well, yeah. I like playing with your hair. I wanted to know how to tie it up without ruining it like last time.”

Meis launches himself up at Gueira for a hug. Gueira laughs as Meis kisses along his throat and jaw.

“You’re so fucking cute.”

“You’re so fucking pretty,” Gueira counters.

Meis smiles and buries his face in Gueira’s chest. “I really like you.”

“I really like you, too.”

Meis stays there for another moment before he jumps to his feet. “Come on, I want to see what you did!”

Gueira lets Meis drag him off into the bathroom without complaint.

~...~

Gueira doing Meis’ hair quickly becomes a regular thing for them. If they’ve got time in the morning, Gueira will do something simple for Meis before class. Whenever they have a date night, Gueira likes to take the time to do something a little more complicated. On lazy days together, they’ll watch a movie as Gueira experiments with new styles for Meis’ hair. Sometimes, Lio will come over to hang out and Gueira will bully him into letting him try doing something with his hair, too.

On this particular evening, a powerful storm is raging outside. Gueira thinks he can see his windows bending beneath the force of the rain beating against them, and the crashes of thunder and flashes of lightning hurt his ears and eyes.

It’s a Saturday, and Meis and Lio are over for their weekly movie night. Gueira usually hosts these since he has the biggest living room. Plus, he doesn’t have any flatmates, so it’s just the three of them. Lio’s apartment is nice, but there’s always the awkward sexual tension between him and his flatmate. For now, Gueira just wants to relax with his two best friends in the entire world.

Unfortunately, Mother Nature has other ideas, and just as they’re settling down to pick a movie, there is an enormous crash of thunder and then everything goes dark.

“Huh,” Gueira says.

“Huh,” Meis agrees.

“Ugh,” Lio groans.

“So, what do you guys want to do now? I could grab some candles and we could play a board game or something?” Gueira suggests.

“Oh no, I am not playing anything competitive with you two ever again,” Lio says quickly. “Don’t think I haven’t noticed the way you help each other cheat.”

“Us?” Meis gasps. “ _Cheat?_ Lio, how could you think so lowly of us?”

Lio just rolls his eyes. “Honestly, I could go for a nap. I’m fucking exhausted.”

“I have some stuff that I need to read for one of my classes,” Meis says. “Why don’t we just have a lazy evening of whatever?”

“Oooh, can I try something new with your hair? I saw this video the other day, it looked really cool and I’ve been dying to try it out!” Gueira says.

Meis smiles fondly. “Yeah, that sounds good. Do you want to get the stool, and then Lio and I can make a nest out of pillows and blankets?”

“Hell yeah! And we can finally use those nice scented candles I bought when I first moved in!” Gueira says.

Together, they pull the cushions off the couch and lay them over the floor. Meis and Lio drag the blankets out of the cupboard, and Gueira brings over the stool and candles. He takes a seat and carefully lights the candles before pulling out his tablet. As Gueira looks for the video he saved the other day, Meis settles in between his legs below. Lio curls up against Meis and rests his head on his shoulder, sighing happily as Meis wraps an arm around him. Meis opens his book and starts quietly reading aloud. Meis has a soothing voice, and it has Lio quietly snoring in no time at all.

Gueira starts the braid at the top of Meis’ head and works his way down. Meis keeps reading, even though it’s all Japanese and Gueira doesn’t understand a word of it. He likes the chance to relax and listen to his boyfriend read to him, anyway. Meis really does have a beautiful voice. It makes for soothing background noise as he loops sections of hair around one another.

After a few minutes, Gueira sits back to admire his masterpiece. He smooths his hand over Meis’ hair then leans forward to give the top of his head a quick kiss.

“I’m done,” Gueira says quietly.

Meis stops reading and reaches up to gently touch his hair. “Can I see?”

Gueira takes a photo with the tablet and then passes it to Meis. Meis stares at the screen for a moment before turning his head to smile at Gueira. “I love it, thank you.”

Gueira beams. “I’m glad you like it.”

Meis nuzzles against Gueira’s thigh. “Thank you for doing this for me.”

“I like doing your hair. I can promise you that my motivations are entirely selfish.”

Meis chuckles quietly. He presses a kiss to Gueira’s knee and then leans back against his stomach. He’s quiet for a little while, and then he looks back over at Gueira. “I love you,” he whispers.

Gueira stares at Meis for a moment before carefully wrapping an arm around the side of Meis not occupied by Lio. “I love you too,” he whispers back.

“You two are revolting,” Lio says suddenly.

“You’re supposed to be asleep!” Gueira splutters.

“You woke me up by being gross.”

“Don’t worry, Lio, we love you too,” Meis says.

“That’s not—I wasn’t—”

“Aw, look, he’s blushing!” Gueira teases.

Lio groans, but cuddles in closer to Meis anyway. “I’m going back to sleep.”

“You do that. I’ll just be here, telling my hairdresser extraordinaire how much I love him.”

“And I’ll be here telling my darling Meisie just how much I love _him_.”

“You two are insufferable,” Lio says.

“Damn straight!” Gueira grins.

“There ain’t nothing straight about you, sweetheart,” Meis says.

Gueira laughs and tightens his grip around Meis. “God, I love you.”

“I love you too, even if you tried to ruin my hair that one time.”

Gueira groans. “It was one time! One time!”

“I guess you’ll just have to find a way to make it up to me.”

“I think I can do that,” Gueira says. “I’ll have a look at my schedule, I’ll see what I can do.”

Meis snorts. “Get down here, you idiot. I want to cuddle properly.”

“Can do!”

Gueira pushes the stool out of the way and then settles down on the pile of pillows beside Meis. Lio curls into one side of Meis, and Gueira takes the other. The storm rages on outside, and the candles cast a gentle light over them from the table. Gueira rests his hand on Meis’ stomach and smiles when Meis presses a kiss to his hair.

He dozes off to the sound of rain and Meis’ heartbeat. 

**Author's Note:**

> Go give some love to [the stunning artwork](https://twitter.com/twdschaos/status/1288511647091429376) that inspired this!
> 
> After that, [come say hi!](https://twitter.com/that_is_yeet) I don't bite, but I do retweet a bunch of Promare stuff.


End file.
